"I'll go first, I'm feeling daring. So what's the first dare Luke?" James asked wondering, and a little fearful of what Luke might make him do.

***

Ashlee straightened a bit and crossed her legs, "Oh right. I got invited and stuff and I noticed if you did. I do wanna go, but if you don't want to its okay I won't go."

***

"No, no I didn't." Jake stood up slowly and it felt like it was hitting him now.

"I didn't, she the girl! Whoever, she kept throwing herself at me. I mean there were a few moments where I think I might have let her kiss me, but its because I was like passing out at that point. But it wasn't on the mouth or shit...but that doesn't matter! I didn't cheat!" Jake announced this really shocking revelation.

He hadn't cheated on her! He wasn't unfaithful! Jake felt like he was on top of the world only when for reality to hit him again.

It didn't matter. It didn't matter if he had or hadn't like he had told Seth earlier. Evelyn didn't trust him, she had used him, and even if she hadn't she wanted nothing to do with him.

"Hmmm..." Luke thought for a long moment. What could he make James do? Something easy first. "Okay," he began, "You gotta...go outside, like, on the street, until you find a couple. You have to propose...to the guy." Luke's eyes twinkled with laughter. "On bended knee, acting like you're his secret gay lover."

***

"I think you should go. And I might pop in for a visit, for a while, since there are other people beside Jake there." Evelyn bit her lip. "I'll just chill with Alexis or something if it goes bad. But Ashton will be there." She nudged Ashlee, grinning. "And you get to listen to Seth brag about his hair, and himself and his everything."

***

Seth was grinning but then he frowned as Jake's face fell. "What? What's the problem?"

James nearly fell over when he heard that... propose... to a GUY?! No way! Luke knew that he hated stuff like that! That was pretty damn cruel, but at the same time...

"Fine, bring it on!" James accepted the challenge getting up. He figured it was time he had fun and if pretending to be someones gay fiancée was how it was going to happen so be it!

***

Ashlee smiled, "Are you sure? Because I feel like a bad friend if I go. I know everything that happened with you and Jake its still kind of you know. So if you're uncomfortable we'll leave." She suggested. Although she did really want to go and see Ashton, she had a job as a friend to fulfill here.

***

"Its useless, its too late. Dude she doesn't trust me, she can't stand me. And no matter what I say or do, she's never going to trust me. It doesn't matter if I didn't have sex with that girl. I did kiss her or she kissed me whatever it was. Its still cheating, even if I didn't go all the way. " Jake sighed really defeated now. Sure he hadn't cheated exactly but it didn't changed that he had kissed another girl.

"Thanks Seth, but its just not gonna happen, its time to move on." Jake said coldly.

Luke got to his feet and made his way to the door, grabbing his jacket as he went. He yanked it on. "All right, I'll have to see it to believe it though."

***

Evelyn shook her head firmly. "No, I, will leave if I have to. YOU will stay because you rarely ever see the kid anyways." She was adamant on this front. She and Jake had already taken out too many friendships/relationships along the way. If she was going to move on, she should start by fixing that.

***

Seth bit his lower lip, scrutinizing Jake silently for a second. So, if he were being honest with himself, he didn't think Evelyn and Jake getting together was a "healthy" relationship. It was hard to tell exactly what was going through their heads, and Vudu just made things uglier.

But Seth was also considering his FB chat with Jake. Out of all the times he'd talked to Jake about her, this one time really bothered him for some reason. Jake might not know it but he'd let slip far more than just vague answers. Those answers went deeper than him not knowing how to word his feelings over a chat window.

For one thing, Seth couldn't remember the last time Jake had let some guy get a hit in and walk away unscathed. Especially a guy he hated as much as he hated James. Jake was infamous for his tendency to beat people up whenever he felt the slightest necessity.

It was a huge deal if all it had taken was one look at a girl to stall him.

Jake really genuinely liked her. So as his friend, shouldn't it be Seth's duty to fix some of the mess Jake was in? Sure, he thought she was terrible for Jake but if, even after everything that had gone down, Jake was still hanging around her and she was letting him - that kind of meant something more serious than a fling.

Seth heaved a long sigh, glancing away from Jake for a second and then back at him.

"Can't believe I'm saying this but..." Seth's eyes twinkled devilishly as his brain whirred, thinking fast, and the corners of his mouth turned up in a slight smile. He lowered his voice so only Jake's ears could hear him, and sat up, leaning forward toward him.

"Fine come along for all I care! Because you know why Lucas?" James looked Luke right in the eye, "Because I'm gonna win." He grinned yanking on his jacket and walking out of their suite. Hopefully all of this trash talking would mentally prepare himself would take away the real uncomfortable feeling away from this situation.

***

"Are you sure?" Ashlee asked her. She knew Evelyn wanted her go but she was still going to feel guilty about it!

***

He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Was Seth actually asking if Jake wanted Evelyn back? If anyone was against their whole relationship (fake or real) from the beginning it had been Seth.

Seth had always been the first one to tell him it had been a bad idea, or that she wasn't good for him. Seth had also been glad on many occasions when Jake had told him that things were over between Evelyn and him, that he was happy about it.

Jacob knew he wanted Evelyn back, he knew he wanted to be able to prove to Evelyn that she could trust him and that he could be a good boyfriend to her and not someone that would hurt her, but she didn't trust him and after how he had acted and all those things that Seth had said about her and how everyone just seemed to attack her or him. It just made things almost impossible to be with each other.

Especially after with the events that had occurred just today and yesterday she had made it very obvious that she wants nothing to do with him and that she wants to move on. And as much as Jacob wanted to be with her, he wanted to move on to. He didn't want to waste any time on her if he knew that Evelyn didn't trust him and would very well never trust him again.

But she said she had used him? Was that true, or was she just trying to hurt him so he would stop talking to her? Everything with them was always so confusing, nothing was every just yes and no or black and white. With them it was always vague and some stupid gray area, that left them kissing one moment and shouting down each others throats.

Just thinking about their dysfunctional relationship gave him headaches.

"Seth I do but... " Jake let out a long tired sigh, rubbing his temple with his fingers, "At the same time I'm just tired of it. Its like I should just move on cause there really is no freaking point."

"No point meaning that she hates me. She doesn't trust me and even if I tell her I didn't go all the way with some girl it doesn't change anything. She's still gonna hate me." Jake shrugged, running a hand through his hair.

"Wait, wait, waaaaiiiit," Seth exclaimed, sounding mortally offended as his eyes widened in shock. He straightened up a bit more, narrowed his eyes at Jake and then, pointing his thumb at himself said pompously, "Did you forget who you're talking to, bro? There ain't nothin' I can't do! I'm like, like, a teenage, modern-day Jesus, bitch! Don't you forget it either! You want her back, you'll get her back! 'Cause I'm the shit, and you know it!"

***

Evelyn's eyes widened and she gaped at Ashlee. "You...." Her eyes narrowed but her lips twitched in a grin. "Gee, Ashlee, you're such a considerate friend, you counted on me to say it was okay."

"Don't worry I'm not even over doing it, just got a hoodie and a some jeans and a pair of boots. Just wanna be able to keep warm, even though I'll be sitting around fire it still gets pretty damn cold. So what are you gonna wear?" Ashlee asked Evelyn.

Evelyn shrugged. "Can't I just go in PJs?" she joked. She ran a hand through her hair. "I don't know. Just the same, I guess. I'm probably gonna stick around for a bit and then leave so not like it matters much - oh! Ashlee!" Her eyes widened. "The love potion! We're supposed to make another batch for the, uh, targets!"

***

Seth shrugged and got to his feet. This made things easier. "Then forget about it. I'm gonna hit the gym. Haven't in a while." He stretched and then turned and stepped around Lucifer, heading for his room.

"Crap, is right," Evelyn muttered, recalling its taste. "But we have to make sure Connor and Ashton drink it tonight. I still have the ingredients left over."

***

Seth emerged from his room in cargo pants and an Ed Hardy hoodie, a gray beanie over his hair. He had his skateboard under one arm and his car keys in the other. His baby had been left home way too long. He'd just park it nearby. And maybe crush a few pedestrians along the way. "Goin' skating, bitches!" he called, yanking open the front door.

"We can do that," Evelyn said. "That's about the only thing they drink besides coffee," she added, snorting. "Although...getting Connor to drink would be easy. He hates sharing alcohol, I remember. But Ashton doesn't usually go for it. We'd need a way to maybe slip him some before the other guys get to it."

***

Ashton came out of his room with a grin and sat down next to Jake, turning on the PS3. "Peace at last! I thought he'd never leave! Now all we need to do is await the next pedestrian-car accident."

Ashton reached over and slid in his EA FIFA CD, starting up the game. "Are you seriously skipping out the bonfire?" he asked Jake absently.

***

Evelyn smirked shamelessly. "I'd take full advantage of his slavery and have him lavish lots of gifts on me," she said, eyes dancing. "I'd feel no regret about it, either! I hate that guy and I have to get even with him anyways." She shot Ashlee a sidelong glance. "What about Ashton?"

Ashlee shrugged, "I think I would feel bad, I mean okay I'd like it a lot at first I'll admit that. But he's actually nice, now if I had made someone like Seth my slave. I wouldn't feel too bad at first. But Ashton is actually pretty nice." Ashlee stated.

***

Jacob sprawled on the couch and shrugged, did he want to go? Yeah of course he did, it sounded like it was going to be fun. But he really couldn't be around Evelyn right now and even if she only came for five minutes it would really kill his mood.

"I don't know, I'm just not feeling good. If I feel better or something I'll come up though, it sounds like a lot of fun." Jake said, getting annoyed of his vibrating phone so he switched it to silent and slammed it down screen first on the couch.

"Maybe she said Seth's name, since she and him get along so well." Ashlee thought, it sounded reasonable enough since usually Seth was always choosing Alexis as his target above everyone else.

***

"Just annoyed, too many people wanting to talk to me. One being a certain bitch who I hate with every fiber of my being." Jake groaned, Rachel had appeared out of the blue just as his life was falling apart as always. Calling and texting him non stop for the last hour or so, and it was driving him nuts.

What is it with all the redheads in this damn city trying to send him to the nut house?!

Evelyn grinned wider. "I hope she's going tonight then. We have to see Seth's reaction to this." She stretched and got up. "I'm gonna change. I want to wear something a bit more comfortable since this is a rough event."

***

Ashton blinked. Evelyn? He didn't bother to ask for clarification, figuring it was probably her after their spat at Vudu. "Ahh. Turn it off?"

"I just did, maybe the dumb bitch will get the hint since I haven't answered he other fourteen million calls!" Jake groaned, he lifted his phone a little peering at the screen and saw Rachel's name appearing across the screen again. Jake hit the ignore button, and the phone notified him.

"32 Missed Alerts." He figured about half were from Rachel, the others were probably from his friends or something but he wasn't going to sift through that shit.

Jacob turned his phone over looking at the screen, he had flicked through his messages steadily going to delete all the missed texts and calls from Rachel, when his screen lit up again, without looking Jacob grit his teeth and picked up, "Listen you fucking bitch! You ever call me again and I will slit your throat. Leave me alone!"

"Is that how you answer all your calls? Huh? ¡Avergüence en usted! You should know better than to talk to your mother, or anyone like that for that matter!" Carmen lectured her son over the phone for his use of foul language.

Jacob mouthed obscenities and nodded as if his mother could see him smacking his hand over his face, "Yes mom, I'm sorry. Yes--no I don't talk like that to other people. I was just frustrated someone has been calling me all day and bugging me an-- I know I'm not supposed to. I know ma."

Jake's mom sat on the phone for a few minutes talking his ear off about his rude manners and how he was raised better. Things he had heard plenty of times before after he would cuss up a storm, he just rolled his eyes shaking his head.

"Are you rolling your eyes at your mother? I can tell you are! I don't need to see your face. I teaching you to be a better man, I swear you and your father. Ah dios me ayuda." Carmen relented.

"MOM! Please! I'm having a real bad day and I know what I did was wrong and I'm really, really sorry. Please! Can I call you later?" Jacob pleaded he loved his mother but still, she really knew how to just go on and on.

"Fine, call me back. When you get your respect back. " Carmen said coldly hanging up on her son.

Jacob tossed his phone on the couch and turned and hit his head repeatedly on the arm rest, why did today have to suck so much?

"Fuck my life." Jake said in deadpan, as he continued to bash his head. Maybe if he was lucky enough he'd knock himself into a coma.